Published: Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 9:03 p.m.

FLAT ROCK — Isabella LaTourette will turn 100 on Memorial Day, reaching one more milestone in a long and happy life of helping people with her husband, Kenneth, Henderson County's first pathologist.

Her husband died last October, but the two have had a tremendous influence in the county. Dr. Kenneth LaTourette opened a private practice at Pardee Hospital six decades ago after being encouraged to do so by Ivor Pardee and Dr. Nicholas Fortescue.

The couple spent their lives in medicine and helping others even before a friend invited them to Henderson County, which became their home in 1953.

Isabella's journey to Henderson County began more than 70 years ago. She met her husband in 1940 while they were examining a patient at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. He was an intern and she was a nurse. After her future husband walked away, the sick patient — who made a full recovery — told her, “I think that doctor likes you.”

The patient wasn't wrong.

Dr. LaTourette began walking Isabella home from the hospital so she didn't have to walk alone in Brooklyn. The two married nearly four months after that first meeting, and remained married for 72 years.

The couple made stops in Farmington, Maine, and Hanover, N.H., before finding their way to Hendersonville. In New Hampshire, Dr. LaTourette did a four-year residency in pathology and Isabella worked as a nurse while he was a student again.

“I was so enamored anyway with my husband,” she said. “I wanted to do all I could to help him.”

At the insistence of a friend, the duo visited Hendersonville and attended a Henderson County Medical Society meeting.

Not long after that, Dr. LaTourette began building a practice in the county. Initially, Isabella wasn't working with him, but began began working as the practice's laboratory manager for the last 15 years of its existence. She watched the practice grow from her husband, an office assistant and three lab workers to more than 30 employees when the two retired.

Her husband also worked as the pathologist for St. Luke's and Mountain Sanitarium, which is now Park Ridge Health, she said.

Isabella retired in 1978 and her husband retired in 1979.

“I loved it,” she said. “I loved my work.”

The couple have one daughter, Marianne Potter, who can only sit back and wonder at her parents and their dedication. The couple would go to the hospital most mornings at 4 a.m. and eat breakfast. Most nights, they wouldn't return home until 7 p.m. or later, she said.

She can remember a five-year stretch where her parents didn't take a day off. They worked six full days a week and half a day on Sundays.

“I really admire my parents,” Potter said.

Pardee has grown by leaps and bounds since Isabella ran her husband's lab in the '70s.

“It certainly is a tremendous change for the better,” she said of Pardee.

Her hospital days long behind her, Isabella's days now are spent loving on family and two black Labradors dropped off on her doorstep in Flat Rock.

The family recently celebrated her 100th birthday with a party at Hendersonville Country Club.

<p>FLAT ROCK — Isabella LaTourette will turn 100 on Memorial Day, reaching one more milestone in a long and happy life of helping people with her husband, Kenneth, Henderson County's first pathologist. </p><p>Her husband died last October, but the two have had a tremendous influence in the county. Dr. Kenneth LaTourette opened a private practice at Pardee Hospital six decades ago after being encouraged to do so by Ivor Pardee and Dr. Nicholas Fortescue.</p><p>The couple spent their lives in medicine and helping others even before a friend invited them to Henderson County, which became their home in 1953. </p><p>Isabella's journey to Henderson County began more than 70 years ago. She met her husband in 1940 while they were examining a patient at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. He was an intern and she was a nurse. After her future husband walked away, the sick patient — who made a full recovery — told her, “I think that doctor likes you.”</p><p>The patient wasn't wrong.</p><p>Dr. LaTourette began walking Isabella home from the hospital so she didn't have to walk alone in Brooklyn. The two married nearly four months after that first meeting, and remained married for 72 years.</p><p>The couple made stops in Farmington, Maine, and Hanover, N.H., before finding their way to Hendersonville. In New Hampshire, Dr. LaTourette did a four-year residency in pathology and Isabella worked as a nurse while he was a student again.</p><p>“I was so enamored anyway with my husband,” she said. “I wanted to do all I could to help him.”</p><p>At the insistence of a friend, the duo visited Hendersonville and attended a Henderson County Medical Society meeting. </p><p>Not long after that, Dr. LaTourette began building a practice in the county. Initially, Isabella wasn't working with him, but began began working as the practice's laboratory manager for the last 15 years of its existence. She watched the practice grow from her husband, an office assistant and three lab workers to more than 30 employees when the two retired. </p><p>Her husband also worked as the pathologist for St. Luke's and Mountain Sanitarium, which is now Park Ridge Health, she said. </p><p>Isabella retired in 1978 and her husband retired in 1979.</p><p>“I loved it,” she said. “I loved my work.”</p><p>The couple have one daughter, Marianne Potter, who can only sit back and wonder at her parents and their dedication. The couple would go to the hospital most mornings at 4 a.m. and eat breakfast. Most nights, they wouldn't return home until 7 p.m. or later, she said. </p><p>She can remember a five-year stretch where her parents didn't take a day off. They worked six full days a week and half a day on Sundays. </p><p>“I really admire my parents,” Potter said. </p><p>Pardee has grown by leaps and bounds since Isabella ran her husband's lab in the '70s. </p><p>“It certainly is a tremendous change for the better,” she said of Pardee.</p><p>Her hospital days long behind her, Isabella's days now are spent loving on family and two black Labradors dropped off on her doorstep in Flat Rock. </p><p>The family recently celebrated her 100th birthday with a party at Hendersonville Country Club. </p><p>“I don't feel 100,” Isabella joked. “I don't know what 100 is supposed to feel like.”</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>